Suicide Squad: Movie Review
It can be quite difficult to manage one’s expectations going into a film they have been eagerly anticipating. “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” let a whole lot of comic book fans down, as well as people who just wanted to see a good movie. It stands to reason that moviegoers would be a bit more skeptical going into a film that is essentially a spin-off of a film that a large chunk of people loathed.
One of the key differences between the two films is really the filmmakers behind them. Zack Snyder who helmed “BvS” is known for style over substance. The guy can create a beautiful looking film and can direct the hell out of an action sequence, but if you have seen “Watchmen”, “Sucker Punch”, and even “Man of Steel”, he has some difficulty with the storytelling.
“Suicide Squad” writer/director David Ayer is a completely different type of filmmaker. He has helmed mostly gritty action films like “End of Watch”, “Sabotage”, and “Fury”. He also wrote the screenplays for “The Fast and the Furious”, “Training Day”, and “S.W.A.T.”. Although he has never done a visual-effects laden comic-book film, I could totally picture him pulling off one based on an elite squad of bad guys doing work for the government. It just seemed like a natural fit. Unfortunately, the biggest issue with “Suicide Squad” isn’t the direction, but the writing. I believe if someone with a background in writing characters such as these handled the screenplay, Ayer would most likely have delivered a better film.
Does this mean that “Suicide Squad” is a waste of time? Absolutely not! Despite the lack of an interesting story or villain, the cast is so enjoyable to watch, that they save it from being a total disaster. Margot Robbie is a scene stealer as Harley Quinn. Although Jared Leto can’t compete with Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker, he still delivers an awesome take on the most beloved comic book bad guy in history.
The story here is pretty easy to follow. When the evil witch, named Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) sets free the soul of her brother, the two work together to take over the world and turn the humans into freaky-monsters that obey their command. Because the siblings are too powerful, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) puts together a group of very bad meta-humans to take down the threat. These are the worst of the worst. Deadshot (Will Smith) is an assassin who never misses his target. Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Diablo (Jay Hernandez) a former L.A. gangster who can shoot fire from his hands, Slipknot (Adam Beach), who can climb anything, and Killer Croc (Adwale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) is a big human-crocodile. The team is led by soldier Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) and Katana (Karen Fukuhara).
There is plenty of action in “Suicide Squad” but it feels very repetitive. Thankfully there is some fun banter between the action. Up to this point, I have never been a fan of Jai Courtney, but here he shows some actual energy. There is some life in his performance. Will Smith and Jay Hernandez do a really good job at making their character’s sympathetic. These two men have done some really horrible things, but they both have their humanity and their regrets. One aspect that I really enjoyed was how the Joker fit into the film. He is here to really help tell Harley Quinn’s story. It doesn’t feel like he was shoehorned in. To understand who Harley Quinn is, you need to have the Joker. He is part of her. What I didn’t expect was despite her complete insanity, she obviously cares about the team she Is working with. She is almost like their really messed up sister who is dangerous, but at the same time utterly adorable.
“Suicide Squad” may be all over the place at times, but the soundtrack happens to be one of the best I have ever heard in a single film. You get a taste of them in the trailers. There are going to be plenty of people who will dislike this film, but I am sure most of them will think it is an improvement over “BvS”. Here is hoping that things get increasingly better with “Wonder Woman”, “Justice League”, and “Aquaman”.
By: Marc Ferman